Voting mechanism



Nov. 16 1926.

J. J. A ULD VOTING MECHANISM Filed August 8, 1925 3 shets -sheet 1 gwuento'o J. J. AULD VOTING MECHANISM 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed August a, 1925 Q llllll ll Mull A aw

Nov. 16,1926. I 1,606,914

' J. J. AULD VOTING MECHANISM Filed August a, 1925 3 Sheets-Sheet s Jig/4a gwuewtoc JcZflu la? Patented Nov. .16, 1926.

I UNITED, STATES I A 1,606,914 PATENT OLFFICE.

i JOHN J. AULD, 0F GRANITE FALLS, MINNESOTA.

VOTING MECHANISM.

Application filed August 8, 1925. Serial No. 49,072.

This invention relates to voting machines, and the general object of the invention is to provide'a voting machine of a very simple character which will permit of a vote for any one of a plurality of persons being cast very quicklyand readily, which automaticah ly totalizes the vote for anyone person or candidate so that no time is wasted by the election ofiicers in going over the ballots and adding up the votes and no chance for mistakes are present, and which is further so constructed that only one ballot or vote may be cast for any one candidate, the mechanism being further so constructed that a voter may, by simply movin the machine, bring the name of any candidate in certain voting position and vote thereon.

A further object is to provide a mechanism of this kind embodying a rotatable drum upon which the names of the candidates are carried, this rotatable drum being so arranged that it may be rotated inone direction by. the voter to bring the. names of the candidates succesively into a predetermined position and which is locked from any reverse rotation, which carries means whereby an adding machine may be operated for each candidate, and which is further so constructed that when the voter leavesthe booth the drum will return to its initial position ready for the next voter, it being impossible for the voter to himself return the drum to this initial position or manipulate the drum otherwise than as directed- A still further object is, to provide a de vice of this character with a plurality of tally operating levers, one for each candidate, which can be brought by rotating the drum successively into position beneath the plunger, and provide a latch holding the.

Other objects have-to do with the details of construction and arrangement of partsas will appear more fully hereinafter. 1 My invention is -illustrated in the accompanying drawings wherein Figure 1 is a slde elevation of a voting machine constructed in accordance with my invention;v I

Figure 2 is a top plan view of the structure shown in Figure 1;

V Figure 3 is a fragmentary longitudinal section through the vote recording drum, j

Figure 4 is a longitudinal section through" the vote recording drum showing the frame in section;

Figure 5 is a fragmentary section onthe line 5-5 of Figure 4;

' Figure 6 is a fragmentary top plan view of the drum, the ends of the drum being in section; i

Figure 7 is a fragmentary endview looking at one end of the drum from the inside thereof;

Figure 8 is ing for transmitting movement to the vote registering dial. 1

Referring to the drawings, it will be seen that I have indicated a frameworkcomposed of the uprights 10, 1'1 and 12 which is supposed to, be disposed within a voting booth, these uprights-being connected by horizontal rods 13 or other bracing means so as to form a supporting frame. The entranceto this frame and the entrance to the voting booth is formed byv a gate having wings 14 and 15 disposed at right angles to each other and mounted upon arotatable pintle 16 carried, by one of the posts 11 or. in any other suitable manner. The pintle 16 at its upper end, is formed with a crank arm 17 andthis in turn is connected to a rod. 18. V

It will be obvious now thatwhen the voter enters the booth, the rod 18 willbe pushed rearward to perform a. certain function to be hereinafter described, and that when, the voter makes hisexit from the booth the pres sure upon the rod 18 will be relaxed.

Mounted within. the booth, as upon the a horizontal members 19 and the shaft2O can ried thereby, is a drum, designated generfl ally and as a whole 21. This drum upon one end. face'is formed with a rope or cable receiving groove, 22, and passing ,over this. groove is a cable 23 connected toa weight 24. The purpose of this rope 23and the weight 24 isto cause the drum to: rotate in a counter-cloclnvise direction to an initial position and that when the voter rotates the drum in a clockwise direction he winds up on this rope against the action of the weight. Also formed upon the end face of the drum are a series of ratchet teeth25, and coacting with thcseratchet teeth is a pawl 26' shown a perspective view of the gearas pivoted to one of the members 19, for instance, which engages with these ratchet teeth, and as longas this pawl is lowered it will prevent the retraction of the drum by the weight. The drum may be advanced in a clockwise direction so that thepawl rides over the teeth but cannot return under the action of the weight until this pawl is lifted.

For the purpose of lifting the pawl when the voter lc'aves the booth, I have illustrated a crank ".27 having one arm thereof ektcnding under the pawland the other arm thereof operatively'connected to the rod 18. Therefore, it will'b'e seen that when the voter enters the booth the rod l8 wil-l be pushed, which will; cause the crank arm 27 to lower the pawl 26 into engagement with the ratchet teeth and that when the voter leaves the booth the double winged gate moving the pintle 16 will act to lift tliepai'vl 26 and permit the weight 24: to return the drum to its initial or original osi'ti on. v

Tie drum at one end is supported within a fixed ring or cap 28 (see Figs. 2 and. which extends ove'rtliis-end of'the drum and at its opposite end the drum rotates within a fixed ring or cap 29 having an opening 30 with a door 31. i' This door may be locked closed while Voting is progressingbut when the door is lifted tlietotaf vote may be read Extending across and connecting these two caps or end members 28 and 29 are the parallel spaced wires 32' That portion of the drum "in'miediately beneath these wirescarries upon it thenaines of all the candidates arrangcdin any desired order. and as the drum is rotated in a clockwise direction the. names of the candidates are brought be neath the wires 32, and are observable between these wires- -Whena name of. a candidate has been brought into this positionthen and only then can the "voting for that candidate occur.

At the end of. the drum opposite the cap 28 there are provided a plurality oftipertures'through which the tally. for the vote may be observed. There isone of these perforations 'or observation openings"3-it for each of the candidatesdisposedimmediately opposite the candidates name, and beneath each observationfopening there is located 1a vote "registeigthere being as inay vote regis ters as there are candidates, each vote register'being actuated by a separate lever 35 disposed within the drum, "Each lever at its end projects into a circumferential recess or groove 36 in thedruin. This groove extends entirely around the drum and at one point is formed as shown in Fig. with a re'cess 36, having its lower and inner wall inclined outward and forward. The lever extends into the drum and is connected to a transverse shaft37,which at its end has a crank arm 38 carrying a' pawl 39. Each tallying mechanism includes a plurality of tally wheels or registry wheels 40, each wheel carrying the numbers, for instance, from 0 to 9 or any other series of numbers and these numerals are adapted to be read through the observation openings 34%. The first wheel a of the series carries upon it the ratchet wheel 41 with which a pawl 39 on the extremity of the lever 38 operates. hen the lever 35 is depressed at its outer end, the pawl; will move the ratchet wheel. ll one step and this will move the first wheel- (l of the series one step. lVhen this wheel a has made a complete revolution, it, by well known means such as comn'ionl'y found in all registering mechanisms, moves the wheel Z) one step and when this wheel 7) has. made its'full revolution it actuates the wheel- 0 one step. I have not illustrated the mechanism whereby this is secured for the reason that it. is common and well known and suitable registering mechanism might be used for the purpose. Each registering mechanism is preferably yarried within a casing 4-3 and the lever oscillates through a slot 4:4 in this casing which limits the movc ment of the lever.

As before statedg each lever extends out into the groove 36 formed in the fixed end of the drum and there are as many levers as there are'candidatcs. For the purpose of actuating the levers successively, I provide upon the fixed supporting ring 28 a post 45 and the plunger carrying lever 46. This lever at its outer end has a handle 47, its inner end is weighted, as at 48, andintermediate the handle and the post there is provided the plunger 49 which operates through an aperture in the ring 28, the line of inoven icnt ofthe plunger being radial to a circlec oncentrict0 the axis of the drum. The extremity of this plunger is adapted, when the plunger is depressed, to force down the corresponding lever,thusregistering a vote for the candidate whose name is displayed between the transversely extending wires 32, these wires simply constitutingan indicating means to indicate whatcandidate is being voted for. As soon as the pressure on the lever is removed, the weight 48 will lift the plunger.

In order to prevent a second depression of the plunger bythe same voter and a second registration of a vote for the same candidate bythe same voter, I provide a latch 50 which, when the lever 35 is depressed, engages over the end of the lever and holds it in its depressed position until the drum has been moved any desired distance in a forward direction.

As soon as the drum has been moved for ward so that the lever 35 escapes from beneath the head of lat-ch50, the lever isv free to be shifted outward by the action of the inclined wall 36 of groove 36 (see Fig. 7),

which will shift the pawl 39 backward so that the pawl may engage with the next tooth of ratchet wheel 41. The outer end of the lever will be held in this position against any accidental tendency to swing inward by reason of the fact that the end of the lever travels in the circumferential groove .36.

For the purpose of shifting the drum any suitable handles may be applied thereto, but preferably the drum will be provided close to the cap or ring 29 with a circular rail -51 which may be mounted on outstanding arms 52 extending from the drum. By this means the drum may be pulled around by the voter, the pawl 26 preventing reverse movement of the drum. r

The operation of this mechanism is as fol lows: Before the voter enters the booth the drum is turned to its initial position by means of the weight and cable 23. "When the voter turns the turnstile or gate composed of the members 14 and 15 he automatically lowers the pawl 26 into engagement with the ratchet teeth 25. This pawl is, of course, concealed inany suitable manner so that the voter cannot lift thepawl or have access thereto. lVh'en the'voter steps up to the drum, the name of the first candidate is disclosedbetween the wires'32. If the voter. desires to vote for the candidate he will depress the plunger for the first candidate and the registering lever of that first candidate will then be locked so that no second -vote can be taken. He will then shift the drum one,

' two or more steps to any desired point for the next candidate he wishes to vote for and again depress the plunger, which will register the vote forthe second candidate, etc., until all the candidates for whom the voter wishes to vote have been voted on. The registcring mechanism for each voter, of course, will immediately register the total vote up to that time. The voter cannot turn the drum backward and, therefore, after he has voted for each candidate and turned the drum to the full extent permitted by the length of the cable 23, he cannot reverse the motion of the drum and vote again and the voter then moves out of the booth. In doing so he shifts the gate through a quarter of a revolutionand in doing so places tension on the'rod 18, which causes the lifting of the pawl 26 and the weight 2% then acts to return the drum toits initial position, as before stated, ready for another voter.

It is to be understood that. the cable 23 is of such length that it will permit only a full or single rotation of the drum 21 so that the voter can never turn the drum 21 more than a single rotation.

It will be seen that with this construction there is no need of wating for the vote to be counted nor any chance for the mistakes commonly found where ballots are individually counted. Immediately after the polls close it is only necessarytoop'en the door 31 and then rotate the drum so that the apertures 34 will come successively beneath the door and the vote may then be noted. The register will remain in the same position as long as necessary so that if there is any question as to the vote for any one candidate or the total vote the registers may be readily inspected. WVith this device plural voting is impossible and inasmuch as there are not a pluralityof buttons, keys, levers, etc, all capable of operation at the same time, there is no necessity of any interlocking system to avoid duplicate voting or plural voting. The voter can only vote for one candidate at one time and the name of each candidate is brought successively beneath the wires 32 as the voter rotates the drum.

The mechanism is very simple and relatively inexpensive, cannot get out of order, may be cheaply installed, and oii'ers complete protection against fraudulent voting. Furthermore, there is no necessity with this mechanism of any officials spending from twelve to forty-eight hours in the balloting place for the purpose of canvassing the ballotand this expense is done away with.

I claim v V l. A voting machine of the character de scribed including a rotatable drun' having names of the candidates arranged in circumferential series around the drum, means whereby the drum may be rotated by the voter to bring'the names successively into a predetermined position, means operable by the voter when a name has been brought into a predetermined position to register a vote for the candidate whose name is displayed,

means permitting a movement ofthe drum in one direction but preventing arotation of the drum in the other direction until the voter has left the booth and'then acting to return the drum to an initial aosition, and means for preventing a .voter rom. operating the registering mechanism more than once for the same candidate.

2. A, voting machine of the character described including a booth having a gate, a drum mounted within the booth and carrying the names of the candidates in circumferential series around the drum, vote registeringmechanism for each candidate, ac-

tuating members mounted upon the drum,

there being an actuating member for each candidate and for each registering mechanism, means mounted in connection with the drum but held from rotation whereby the actuating members may be successively operated, means latching an actuating member from further operation after it has been once operated, means releasing said latching means when the drum has been shifted to bring the name of another candidate into operative position and the actuating member for said candidate into operative relation to said actuating member operating means and means put in operation when the voter enters the booth preventing the reverse movement of the drum and acting when the voter leaves the booth to release the drum but permit itto return to an initial position.

A voting machine of the character described including a booth having a doorway and a gate formed with right angular wings disposed in said doorway so that when one wing is at right angles to the plane of the doorway the other wi g closing the doorway and vice versa, a rotatable drum mounted within the booth and havingthereon the names of candidates arranged in circumferential series, a series of registering mechanisms disposed within the drum, one for each candidate, a series of ac tuating members for the registering mechanisms, one for each candidate, alixed member mounted at one end of the drum, a plunger carried by the fixed member and adapted to enter the drum and engage that actuating member which is immediately beneath the plunger, means within the drum for locking an actuating member into a depressed position after it is engaged by the plunger until the drum has rotated a predetermined amount to bring another actuating member beneath the plunger, meanstending to rotate the drum to an initial position, means actuated on the opening ofthe gate and the entrance of the voter into the booth to prevent the rearward movement of the drum but permit its movement by the voter in one direction, and means actuated by the reverse movement of the gate upon the voter departing from the booth, free ing the drum and permitting its return to an initial position.

4:. A voting mechanism of the character described including a booth, a rotatable drum mounted within the booth and carrying the names of the candidates in circumferential series, means urging the drum in one direction to an initial position, a fixed element at one end of the drum, a plunger mounted upon said fixed element, the drum having a circumferential recess in which said plunger is adapted to be forced, means holding said plunger raised, a plurality oi registering mechanisms disposed within the drum, one for each candidate, an actuating member therefor connected to the registen ing mechanism and extending into said recess, the plunger being adapted to register with each of said actuating members in suc" ccssion and depress said actuating member when the plunger is depressed, a latch hoiding the actuating member depressed after actuation by the plunger and until the drum has moved a predetermined amount in one direction, means carried by the drum where-- by the drum may be manually rotated in one direction, a ratchet wheel mounted upon the end of the drum, a pawl coacting with the ratchet wheel and preventing reverse movement of the drum When engaged with the ratchet wheel, a gate to the booth, and means operated by the gate and upon an entrance of the voter into the booth caus ing the depression of said pawl into the teeth of the ratchet wheel, said means acting upon the departure of the voter from the booth to lift said pawl out of engagement with the ratchet wheel and permit the drum to be turned reversely.

In testimony whereof I hereunto affix my signature.

JOHN J. AULD. 

